If you've ever sat in your car in the parking lot googling "closure or frontal" before placing an order, you are in very good company. It's the question I get most often, and the honest answer is that neither one is better across the board. They're built for different lifestyles.
After seven years of fitting clients and shipping lace all over the country, here's how I walk women through the decision — including the 13x6 option most people don't know they have.
What a lace closure actually does
A lace closure is a smaller piece of lace — most commonly 4x4 or 5x5 inches — that sits at the crown of your head and "closes off" your install. The rest of your head is covered with bundles, and the closure gives you one believable parting space where scalp would show.
Because the lace panel is small, a closure is forgiving. There's less lace to tint, less lace to lay flat, and less lace to worry about lifting at the end of a long day. If you're newer to installs, or you get your hair done every few weeks and want it to hold up without much fussing, a closure is the low-stress option.
The trade-off is styling range. A closure gives you a middle part, a side part, or a free part within that small window — but you can't pull the whole thing into a high ponytail or sweep it dramatically off your face, because there's no lace past the crown. What's behind the closure is a sewn-down track, and it will read as one.
Our Brazilian Body Wave HD Lace Closure, Brazilian Silky Straight HD Lace Closure, and Brazilian Deep Wave HD Lace Closure are all 100% human hair in natural 1B, so you can tint, tweak, and customize the part however you like. For a tighter texture, the Afro Kinky Curly Lace Closure blends beautifully with natural hair.
What a lace frontal actually does
A lace frontal spans thirteen inches across — essentially ear to ear. Instead of one parting window, you get an entire recreated hairline.
That's the whole appeal. With a frontal you can part anywhere along the front, pull the hair back off your face, wear a deep side part one week and a slicked-back look the next, and do it all without the install announcing itself. It's the reason frontals dominate on camera and at events — the hairline moves the way real hair moves.
More lace also means more responsibility. You have more surface to tint to your complexion, more perimeter to secure, and more area to keep clean of adhesive residue. Frontals are also the piece most likely to cause tension damage along the edges if they're installed too tight or worn nonstop without breaks.
13x4 vs 13x6: what the extra two inches buy you
Here's the part most buyers don't realize they're choosing. Both frontals are thirteen inches wide. The difference is depth — how far back the lace goes from your hairline.
A 13x4 gives you four inches of depth. That's plenty for side parts, free parts, and a natural middle part. It's the standard, it's the more affordable of the two, and for most everyday wear it does everything you need.
A 13x6 gives you six inches. Those two extra inches sit exactly where a deep middle part lives, which means the part looks convincing much further back on your head. It also means more room to pull the hair into a high ponytail or a half-up style without the lace running out and exposing where the wefts begin. If you love a deep middle part, if you wear your hair up often, or if you want the most seamless illusion possible on camera, 13x6 is worth the upgrade.
The trade-off is what you'd expect: more lace to tint, more lace to lay, and a higher price. A 13x6 is not the beginner's frontal.
Our 13x4 frontals: Straight 13x4 HD, Body Wave 13x4 HD, Deep Wave 13x4 HD, and Kinky Curly 13x4.
Our 13x6 HD frontals: Brazilian Straight, Brazilian Body Wave, Brazilian Deep Wave, Loose Wave, Yaki Straight, Jet Black Body Wave, Jerry Curl, and Afro Kinky.
Closure vs frontal at a glance
| Lace Closure | 13x4 Frontal | 13x6 Frontal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Crown only | Ear to ear, 4 inches deep | Ear to ear, 6 inches deep |
| Parting | One window | Anywhere across the front | Anywhere, plus deep middle parts |
| Ponytails | Low pony at best | Half-up styles | High ponytails, slick-backs |
| Bundles needed | More bundles | Fewer bundles | Fewest bundles |
| Upkeep | Lower | Higher | Highest |
| Beginner friendly | Yes | Takes practice | Best with experience |
How to choose for your actual life
Choose a closure if you mostly wear your hair down, you want a protective style you can leave alone for weeks, you're still learning to lay lace, you're rebuilding your edges and want less tension up front, or you want to keep your budget tighter.
Choose a 13x4 if you want real parting freedom and a natural hairline without going all the way up in price and maintenance. This is the sweet spot for most of my clients.
Choose a 13x6 if you live in a deep middle part, you wear your hair up constantly, you're shooting content, or you simply want the most undetectable result available and you're comfortable working with lace.
And if you want frontal versatility without a sew-in at all, a lace front wig splits the difference. The Straight 13x6 HD Lace Front Wig, Body Wave 13x6 HD Lace Front Wig, and Deep Wave 13x6 HD Lace Front Wig all give you that invisible hairline and come off at the end of the day.
The maintenance question everybody asks
How long your lace lasts has far less to do with closure versus frontal than it does with how you treat it. The same care routine protects all three.
Wash with a gentle sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner, working in a downward motion — no scrubbing at the knots. Air dry on a wig stand or mannequin so the lace and the parting keep their shape. Use a heat protectant before any flat iron or curling wand, and keep your tools at 400°F or below. Never put heat on the lace itself. Remove every bit of adhesive after each wear so the lace stays clean, and be gentle with bleached knots and baby hairs.
At night, tie your edges down and cover everything with a Black Silk Bonnet or a satin scarf. Friction against cotton pillowcases is the fastest way to shorten the life of good hair. Between wears, store on a mannequin or in a satin bag.
One extra note for frontals: give your hairline rest. Take the piece down on schedule, let your edges breathe, and don't wear a frontal continuously for months at a time.
What about price?
Closures cost less upfront than frontals, and a 13x4 costs less than a 13x6 — but a closure install usually calls for more bundles, so the gap narrows once you price the full look. Think in terms of total install cost, not just the lace, and factor in how often you'll want to restyle. A frontal that lets you wear five different looks may earn its keep faster than a closure you get bored with.
My honest verdict
If you're newer to lace, protecting your edges, or you want a beautiful, easy install you don't have to think about every morning — start with a closure. If styling freedom is the whole reason you're buying, go 13x4. If you want that deep part and a hairline nobody questions, and you know your way around lace, go 13x6.
Most of my longtime clients eventually own more than one and rotate depending on the season and what they have going on. There's no wrong answer, only the one that fits how you actually live.
Not sure which size or texture suits you? Call us at 1-833-904-1267 and we'll help you build the install.
— Nicole, Nikki Smith Hair Collection